


Science is Great

by Faramirlover



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Science Boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-10 05:05:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1155431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faramirlover/pseuds/Faramirlover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony wants Bruce to stay around because having a science bro is great. Fluff. Tony POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Science is Great

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [La Ciencia es Genial](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1156368) by [Latexohpo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latexohpo/pseuds/Latexohpo)



When Tony invites Bruce to come live at Stark tower it’s completely innocent – well, as innocent as Tony Stark can ever be. It’s also entirely selfish. Bruce is all kinds of smart and just having him in the lab with him makes him feel 1000% times more awesome. And just, well, science! Science is great. Having a science bro is totally the best thing. Yeah, Peps smart, but Bruce speaks _English_.

Bruce is… well Bruce is Bruce and that’s all the incentive he needs to keep his science buddy around. Everything’s great.

Except it really isn’t.

Pep leaves, can’t take the stress anymore and, yeah, that’s a bit not good for a while and Bruce goes shy and gives him space and doesn’t talk so much and Jarvis is sarcastic and dismissive which is a sure sign he’s concerned – Tony should know, he wrote the programming.

But then it starts to get okay again. Bruce shows him a serum he’s working on to mellow the Other Guy and asks Tony’s advice on how to administer it and suddenly it’s twelve hours later and Jarvis is dryly informing them that they’re severely dehydrated and ‘Dr Banner is shaking, Sir.’

Tony sleeps better than he has in weeks and the next day he gets up and it’s more of the same, except this time Bruce is waffling about organic chemical tracking and how to stop the body rejecting it or, even better, can they trick the body into making it itself.

“Is this so we don’t lose the Other Guy?”

Bruce squints at Tony, pushing his glasses back up his nose, “For all of us. Can’t let anything happen to the gang.”

The _to you_ hangs unspoken in the air and Tony knows he’s thinking of Afghanistan and his heart swells a little bit that his science bro cares so much.

Time drifts by and the other Avengers drift in and out too. Steve has his own place and only drops by for specific team meetings and Thor is off planet most of the time but when on Earth he always comes to stay. Natasha and Clint tend to stop by sometimes and Tony has a suspicion that it’s more often than he knows about – Bruce thinks he’s mad but he’s pretty certain Clint’s hiding in the air con ducts. But Bruce, Bruce stays. Even when he freaks out, and the Other Guy pays a visit, he stays, let’s Tony spent millions on what he refuses to stop calling the Hulk Sulk Room.

Six months. It’s been six months and Bruce is still here, still trusting Tony to keep him safe, from others and from himself. Still science-ing and laughing and letting Tony poke him with sharp sticks and push and push and push but still he stays.

“When are you gonna ask?”

“Huh? Sorry?”

Bruce doesn’t look up from his microscope but his hand waves vaguely in the air to show he’s listening

“When are you gonna ask to see the arc reactor. Aren’t you interested?”

And that’s got Bruce’s attention, looking up and jumping when he realises how close Tony’s gotten.

“Well, it’s part of you. I didn’t want to cross any boundaries, you know?” he wrings his hands together, the one nervous tic that Tony really wishes he could get rid of. The hand ruffle through the hair is pretty good though, definitely lends a well shagged edge to Bruce’s scientist chic.

“Boundaries! You know I don’t have any,” he hops onto the desk and whips his top off before Bruce can say anything, “go on, have a look, just don’t take it out for too long or, you know, I might die.”

Bruce approaches like Tony’s a wild animal that’s either going to flee or savage him. He reaches out gently and brushes a fingertip around when skin meets the cool metal before more firmly laying his hand against the vibrating disk.

And Tony knows.

Can feel it in the way Bruce is holding himself as still as possible, the way he’s barely breathing, the featherlike touch of warm fingertips against hot skin.

Bruce is in love with him.

And it’s so obvious, from every moment they’ve spent together, every word, action, look, touch.  There’s no doubt. Not now he’s realised.

“Bruce?”

“Hmm?”

“When are you gonna ask?”

“Tony?”

“To kiss me. Aren’t you interested?”

Again he doesn’t give Bruce a chance to run away – nothing has made him run yet, not the loud music or unhealthy food or annoying mood changes but this just might and, God, he hopes it doesn’t. Instead he pushes forward, almost falls off the desk, and lands the lightest of pecks on Bruce’s lips.

Bruce’s hand falls away from his chest, he pushes his glasses up his nose and heads for the door.

“Bruce?”

“Well the kissing didn’t live up to the reputation, thought you might like to have a chance to prove yourself in the bedroom.”

Well, he thinks as he leaps down to follow, science is great, but the rest, the rest is gonna be awesome.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Science Is Great.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1162033) by [Faramirlover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faramirlover/pseuds/Faramirlover), [The_Lady_smaell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Lady_smaell/pseuds/The_Lady_smaell)




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